Ellington

UW President Mark Emmert began his special address at last night’s ASUW Senate meeting with an air of optimism.

“What a great day to be an American,” Emmert said, referring to Barack Obama’s inauguration that had occurred earlier in the day. The tone quickly shifted, however, as the rest of the evening’s forum consisted of questions concerning the economic recession’s effect on the University.

Emmert praised the UW for recently being ranked the 16th-best university in the world by Shanghai Jiao Tong Global 500 rankings, but continued on to say that with such prestige comes uniqe challenges. Emmert was referring to the issue of increasing freshmen class sizes, the drop in junior and senior students leaving the university, and the recent announcement that that the UW will not be accepting transfer students for spring quarter.

“You can always squeeze more students in, but you can’t squeeze them in and maintain academic standards,” he said. “The state of Washington’s budget is in really bad shape. We are trying to manage how to deal with big budget cuts.”

One way Emmert has been dealing with these struggles is by not filling administrative positions that have recently opened up, while delegating responsibilities to other administrative members. He compared the UW’s success in preventing mass faculty layoffs to other schools, specifically citing Arizona State University, where 250 faculty members were let go.

On the issue of expansion and construction projects, Emmert was optimistic.

“Gov. Gregoire is being aggressive about spending more money on construction of new buildings, which would in turn create more jobs,” Emmert explained.

Upcoming construction plans include a molecular engineering building, new residence halls and the renovation of buildings around the Quad. Emmert noted that the renovation of Husky Stadium would put as many as 7,000 construction workers to work.

Other topics brought up were issues with the UW’s Tacoma and Bothell campuses. Emmert said he hopes to expand both with more degree programs and recreational opportunities.

He concluded by emphasizing the effect the UW will have on the state’s economic climate.

“UW is the third largest employer in Washington after Boeing and Microsoft,” Emmert said. “We are an engine of the economy.”

Although Emmert addressed a wide range of issues during his session, not all shared his hopefulness for the University’s future.

“I really appreciated him coming down to have a forum and allowing us to ask questions,” said sophomore Conor McLean. “But I didn’t leave feeling like I knew how the budget cuts will affect life on campus.”

Reach contributing writer Ivan Vukovic at news@dailyuw.com.